Chapter 525: Trust Is the Only Path to Solving Problems

“Ah... you’re in here, aren’t you...”

That eerie voice drifted in from the corridor outside. At the same time, with a creaking sound, the doorknob suddenly pressed down hard!

The door was about to open!

Muen’s eyes went wide. In that instant, his heart nearly stopped.

In an atmosphere where even the air felt frozen, he suddenly had the illusion that he was the protagonist of a horror movie, and the thing wandering outside wasn’t a girl in love, but a vengeful ghost come to claim his life.

“Damn it...”

Damn Ariel, there are so many beautiful women at this ball, so why the hell are you so fixated on me?

What exactly is it about me that attracts you so much—can’t I just change it?!

...Muen was clenching his back molars so hard they were about to crack.

What do I do, what do I do...

If Ariel caught him in this kind of room this time, it would really be impossible to get away.

He had to think of something!

In the tiny fraction of a second between the handle being pressed down and the door slowly opening, Muen’s mind spun at a speed that wrung every last drop of wisdom from his life. Countless ideas flashed through his head, only to be rejected one after another on the spot.

In the end, his gaze, as if guided by something, uncontrollably landed on a metal ornament not far away...

“Heh...”

Muen suddenly let out a carefree little laugh.

“...Looks like... I’ve got no choice.”

As expected, at this moment everything was already predestined. He’d long since been driven to a place with no retreat.

He could only... do this.

This isn’t my fault. You forced me, Ariel!

At the exact instant the door finished opening, Muen snatched up that metal ornament and leapt out from the depths of the darkness!

Lie the hell down, you damn lesbian!

“Hm? Strange. Who’s making such a racket over here? Laovini, go take a look.”

Still holding the door open, the refined-looking man glanced toward the direction of that strange, drawn-out voice and spoke to the maid at his side.

As he turned his head, he saw a shadow leap out of the room. His expression froze instantly, even tipping into terror.

The moment Muen clearly saw this man’s face, his own expression also froze.

It wasn’t Ariel...

It was the Eldest Prince!

Damn it, why is it the Eldest Prince?!

Why... the fuck... is it... the fucking... Eldest Prince??

Though Muen reacted in that lightning flash of a moment, it was far too late to pull back his strike. He could only watch helplessly as the metal ornament in his hand made intimate contact with the Eldest Prince’s poor head.

Thud.

With a dull sound, Eldest Prince Albert’s eyes rolled white, and he slowly crumpled to the floor.

The maid next to him—who had just been about to respond—hadn’t even figured out what had happened yet. She simply stood there, staring blankly.

And just then, apparently drawn over by the noise, Ariel stuck her head out around the other corner, holding a megaphone. She stared blankly for a few seconds at the scene in front of her, then said in a daze,

“Miss Muse... as... as for attacking a prince... even I... can’t really smooth this over for you!”

“......”

Fuck.

Muen’s eyelid twitched.

He looked down at the unconscious prince at his feet, then at the maid next to him slowly snapping out of her stupor, her expression morphing into vivid horror. After taking a deep breath, he suddenly shouted:

“Ariel!”

Without a trace of hesitation, Ariel shot forward at astonishing speed the moment she heard him call. Before the maid could react and scream, Ariel’s hand knife chopped her down with brisk, clean efficiency that clearly came from very rich real-life experience, knocking her out cold.

Then, with movements several levels more professional than Muen’s, she caught the collapsing maid to keep her from hitting the ground and making more noise.

Finally, she and Muen dragged the maid and Eldest Prince Albert into the room together. Once they confirmed there were no other witnesses around, they shut the door.

It was as if nothing had happened.

“Wow, we really are in sync.”

After finishing all this, Ariel, who seemed completely unaware of just how outrageous a thing she’d just done, wiped the sweat from her forehead with a proud grin.

“This must be what they call a special connection!”

“......”

Muen felt like his facial muscles were going to spasm into permanent numbness today.

He’d just yelled on instinct, but he hadn’t expected Ariel to actually become his accomplice without a shred of hesitation.

Should he be happy about that... or despair at how far this girl would go in her pursuit of beautiful girls?

...Given that he was the beautiful girl she wanted to pursue, no matter how he looked at it, this was not a reality anyone could be pleased about.

“You’re really not afraid this will cause trouble for you?”

Muen took a deep breath and stared into Ariel’s eyes.

“We’ve only met a handful of times, haven’t we?”

“No, how many times we’ve met isn’t important.”

Ariel lifted her leg and set it on a stool, elbow propped casually on her knee, a toothpick stuck in her mouth from who-knows-where. Striking what she clearly believed was an extremely cool pose, she said,

“What matters is... instinct. My instincts are always spot-on. Miss Muse, I don’t know what you’re trying to do, but I don’t think you’re a bad person. I... believe in you!”

“......”

Staring at Ariel putting on the airs of a rakish love veteran, Muen fell silent again.

What could he even say?

She really was the original book’s harem protagonist. This kind of sincere devotion toward a girl was, in a way, truly dazzling—so dazzling that he almost felt like he might be moved to tears.

Although, should he say that instinct of hers was accurate... or not?

“Will you... really keep trusting me?” Muen suddenly asked.

“Of course!”

Ariel stretched out her hand like a hero about to save a maiden from her suffering and said,

“Miss Muse, there’s no need to be shy or afraid. I’ll trust you unconditionally! I promise!”

“Then...”

Muen forced out a “shy” little smile.

“Could you turn around? I have a surprise for you.”

“Surprise?”

Ariel froze, a sudden rush of joy flaring in her chest.

Don’t tell me...

Moved by my reckless act of bravery, Miss Muse is finally going to let go of her shyness and wariness?

Has my first step finally succeeded?

Without a hint of hesitation, Ariel turned around—and without Muen even needing to ask, she closed her eyes all on her own.

“How much longer do I have to wait... I’m getting a little impatient,” Ariel said, eager and expectant.

“All right, you can turn back now.”

“Great, I—”

Ariel turned back, excitement filling her heart. But what she saw was not some beautiful girl’s “surprise,” but...

A descending metal ornament.

Thud.

With that familiar dull sound, Ariel’s eyes rolled up, and she slowly crumpled to the floor, the expression of anticipation still frozen on her face.

“Whew...”

Looking at the unconscious Ariel, Muen set down the metal ornament that had now earned great merit by taking out both the Heaven-ordained protagonist and the Eldest Prince, and dabbed away nonexistent tears at the corner of his eye.

“How should I put it... Either way, I really am very happy you could have that kind of trust in me.”

After all, he really might not be able to beat this girl in a straight fight.

Fortunately, he wasn’t some beautiful maiden who’d be moved to tears by unconditional trust—and he’d never actually had any real intention of assassinating the Eldest Prince.

Ariel’s coolness had just been used in the wrong place.

“Let’s find a place to dump you first.”

After confirming that the Eldest Prince and his maid wouldn’t be waking up anytime soon, Muen grabbed Ariel by the ankles and /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ dragged her toward the door, face down, Ariel somehow not seeming to suffer much friction at all.

“Seriously, the fact that your skull isn’t built like a steel plate is such a blessing,” Muen thought again with deep relief.